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Environmental, Safety, and Health Issues at EPA Laboratories
 |
Office of Inspector
General
Audit Report |
|
Follow-up Audit |
|
| Environmental, Safety, and Health Issues at EPA Laboratories |
|
| E1DMD8-11-0002-8100185 | |
| July 23, 1998 | |
| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY |
On September 27, 1995, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, "Environmental, Safety, and Health Issues at EPA Laboratories." A follow-up audit was initiated to determine if the Agency had implemented the recommendations provided in that report. Since most of the recommendations were directed at Agency Headquarters, we limited our audit to Headquarters offices and did not revisit any laboratories. We focused on available documentation, to the extent possible, to evaluate progress. We interviewed personnel in the Office of Administration and Resources Management (OARM) and Office of Research and Development (ORD). This follow-up audit was conducted from December 1997 through March 1998.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) personnel perform operations in laboratories and during field inspections which subject the Agency to the very environmental regulations that it is responsible for promulgating and enforcing. Safety and health programs are also applicable. The 1995 OIG report included recommendations for improvements to EPA's ESH program and audit process. Agency management agreed to implement the recommendations or take other actions to address the issues.
After the release of the OIG report, the Agency issued the Code of Environmental Management Principles for Federal Agencies (CEMP) in 1996. This code, which emphasizes pollution prevention and sustainable development, is applicable to the Agency's ESH operations. It focuses federal agencies on the necessity of state-of-the-art environmental management for reaching the highest levels of environmental performance. CEMP relates closely to our 1995 report recommendation that EPA establish a model environmental program which could also address safety and health issues.
| OBJECTIVES |
The objectives of the follow-up audit were:
- to determine if Agency management has implemented corrective actions indicated in their response to the 1995 OIG report and,
- to assess the Agency's status in implementing CEMP as established for federal agencies.
| RESULTS IN BRIEF |
The Agency implemented most of the corrective actions addressed in our 1995 OIG report. However, improvements could be made in the evaluation of EPA's ESH personnel and in the Agency's ESH audit process and reporting requirements. Also, we recommended in our prior report that EPA develop a model program to serve as a standard for environmental management. EPA has not fully implemented CEMP requirements, which would generally meet the intent of our recommendation. In its role as a leader both nationally and internationally in environmental programs, EPA should establish a standard for excellence in implementing responsible environmental management at its own laboratory and facility operations.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
We recommend that the Acting Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management:
- Strengthen ESH audit protocol to address training and qualifications of ESH personnel to best complement the individual laboratories' ESH needs.
- Further enhance the ESH audit process for risk assessment and access to audit corrective action tracking systems.
- Fully implement CEMP, challenging the Agency to move forward to a higher level of environmental management and provide leadership not only for federal, but also national, ESH programs.
Agency Response & OIG Evaluation
The Office of Administration and Resources Management generally agreed with each of the recommendations in the draft report and provided planned corrective actions as well as milestone dates for completion. The specific corrective actions planned are included after each chapters' recommendations and the response is included in its entirety as Appendix II.
We believe the corrective actions underway and planned by the Agency address the report's recommendations, therefore, we are closing this report upon issuance. No further response by the Agency is necessary.